DEKALB — The Huskie Stadium scoreboard showed Sacred Heart-Griffin High School trailing Lombard Montini 21-14 at halftime on Saturday. But the Cyclones believed they led in the immeasurable asset known as momentum.

Senior linebacker Chris Overton, whose sack of Montini quarterback Alexander Wills put an exclamation point on the Cyclones' defensive stand at the end of the first half, was among the believers.

"We were behind, but the whole team was fired up," Overton said after the Cyclones rallied for a 38-28 victory over the four-time defending champion Broncos.

"We were making a statement. We knew as soon as halftime was over, we were going to come out and hit them in the mouth. And that's what we did. We showed up and really played as a team."

That team, after giving up 21 first-quarter points to Montini, contained the Broncos the rest of the way.

SHG came up with several key defensive plays in the second quarter when Montini seemed poised to widen its lead.

Stepping up

On fourth-and-6 at the Cyclones' 15-yard line, Wills threw a pass over the middle that was broken up by SHG junior John Morgan with 6 minutes left.

After having to punt on its next series, Montini drove inside the Cyclones' 5 with less than a minute left in the half. On third and goal from the 3, Overton broke through and sacked Willis. The Broncos hurriedly tried to kick a field goal, but time ran out.

"We had a stunt called on my side," Overton said. I went inside, and none of their linemen blocked me. They had a running back on me, but I made a move on him, and that's when I got to the quarterback and made that sack. It felt great."

The fired-up Cyclones headed to their locker room, which was located under the west stands occupied by Montini fans. Words were exchanged between opposing coaches, SHG players and Montini fans.

"I felt like I was about 35 again," joked SHG coach Ken Leonard. "It was a time for me, as head coach, to set the tone."

Montini had two turnovers to none for the Cyclones. Both of the Broncos' mistakes came in the second half, including a fumble recovered by SHG's Cameron Murphy at the Montini 31-yard line.

Eight plays later, Green scored his third touchdown of the day — this one on a 6-yard run — to open a 31-21 lead with 2:50 left in the third quarter. Midway through the fourth, Cyclones linebacker Chris Smith got an interception. SHG had several near-interceptions earlier in the game.

"My brother (Jake Smith) got an interception in the state championship in 2008," Smith said. "That was going through my head.

"I'd dropped a few balls in the playoffs, but when I finally caught one, I thought, 'Wow, this is awesome.'

Page 2 of 2 - "Montini had something to prove, but so did we. And I think we proved it."